of Ghana Tap the N Go system is a digital service for the public transport sector launched by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia on February 19, 2024.
The system allows passengers to use a multi-functional multi-purpose card or a mobile app to access and pay for public transport services across the country by tapping the card or phone on a stationary machine on a bus.
A copy of Aayalolo and Easy Taxi?
The system is similar to EasyTaxi, a UK-based on-demand booking app that connects users with local taxi companies and private hire companies for a friendly and affordable transport solution. EasyTaxi is interesting released in Ghana in 2014 but eventually closed due to lack of development.
The Aayalolo bus system, which was released in 2016 but so far failed to scale, it also made use of transit cards that allowed riders to purchase credit on their cards and “tap” a verifier on Aayalolo buses to get to their destinations.
Between the lines
There are also some differences between the two systems. The Tap N Go system is reported to cover a wider range of transport services, including inter and intra-city bus services, commercial transport (trotro), load taxi services and taxi transfer services.
However, the current observations of local taxis and trotros question the viability and implementation of the Tap N Go service.
Member of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), publicly stated that the system can never work on trotros, the most popular mode of public transport in Ghana, given the current nature and design of trotro services.
Competition with Transportation Services?
With the Tap N Go system effectively appealing to taxi drivers, the platform competes with transport services in Ghana including Uber and Bolt.
Although they use the same flow of technology, the only competitive advantage is that it offers the Tap and Go system 12% commission. compared to 20% for both Bolt and Uber.
Private ride-hailing companies have first-mover advantage and are located in more cities in the country.
Our acceptance
Given past experiments with the government trying to modernize public transport with technology, it’s hard to see the Tap and Go project succeeding in the long term.
In the application of use for Metro Mass and Aayololo, we can see some success in this area, but not with the current taxi and trotro service.
Unless the government has an effective game plan to support the local transport industry with technical support and other needs, it is difficult to see the Tap and Go project scaling up across the country.
We’ve been very vocal about the government leaning more toward building open source technologies that the private sector can leverage to build their solutions involving transportation.
We will continue to report developments with this story.
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